Assassin's Tango
by Morning Chrysanthemum
Summary: Kiku Honda works for an organization that is bent on making the world safer through murder. His next target is Arthur Kirkland, a seemingly corrupt businessman. Over time, he may realize how contradictory the worlds outside his own are. Not supernatural.


He remembered the saying—how could he forget? Somehow, it struck a chord in his mind, leaving the sharp precision of something uttered so plainly yet ringing with some thousand years of wisdom. The cold simplicity of it! How could he not have realized it, in his line of work?

Kiku Honda shook his head. No, even if he did become aware of it, he wasn't going to apply it to himself. Stealth, strength, speed, and luck were pretty much what you needed to get by, and he was confident enough in himself to say that he possessed them, thank you very much. He wouldn't end up like-

_Fwump. _A rustle followed the sound. The dark-haired man forgot about those infernal, white high-heels he'd been wearing. His mouth opened, about to give birth to a swear, but it was forcibly swallowed as a pair of arms deftly, albeit somewhat roughly, caught him before he tumbled down onto the wet, hard sidewalk. The umbrella he carried was still firmly clenched in his hand, luckily; otherwise there would be debt to pay. As if that lifted his discomfort about the garments he sported.

"Why so clumsy today, _amigo_?Were you not always the graceful one?_" _came a laughing voice, pulling him up and supporting him. Kiku gritted his teeth, trying not to show the emotion he was notorious for hiding. In this case, it was anger.

"I am certain you would be just as inelegant in these shoes if _you _were the one wearing them, Antonio-san." he grumbled.

"True, true. But I am not the one assigned with this mission, so unfortunately I cannot join you in your, ah, _fun,_ even if it is with Lovi," He let go of Kiku and hugged the disgruntled-looking brunette on his other side, who surprisingly had kept quiet until now.

"Shut up, you bastard," was the sullen reply he received. Kiku felt some empathy for the man, since they were both wearing similar clothing: painfully tight corsets that nearly squeezed the living daylights out of them, with matching, poofy, Victorian dresses (ivory for Kiku, chocolate for Lovino) and cardigans to keep the chill away, along with hair accessories. Kiku's was a white rose tucked into his ebony hair while Lovino's was brown in order to match even more. As if the get-up wasn't enough, the two had been forced to wear make-up; light eye shadow, lipstick, and blush, but extremely humiliating nonetheless. Kiku had always been sensitive about his masculinity, what with his short stature and slim figure. The outfit just made it worse.

"_Dude, don't think you're a girl just because of what those other jackasses say...it's not like you can argue against what you were born with...at least man up to face up to them, okay?"_

The Japanese man stiffened. No need to remember _him, _no need at all.

Antonio merely laughed more and tipped his hat. He was dressed as a true Englishman from the nineteenth century, with a blue shirt, complimented by the black vest and waistcoat he wore. A handkerchief and top hat added to the charm.

However, unbeknownst to anyone watching them, there were weapons hidden underneath the layers of clothing each of them had to wear. Antonio and Lovino (who had a pouch on the inside of his sleeve made) had pistols concealed. Kiku, although having a similar pocket, carried a kunai instead. He would have much preferred his trusty katana, but it would have been close to impossible to hide.

And besides, the kunai was more than enough if he wanted to kill. That _was _his aim.

"The life of an assassin…"Kiku sighed at one point, "Surely, it is not that appealing compared to the illusion people, especially young children, assume."

"Don't be such a killjoy, Kiku! You're depressing even me! At least we're going to a ball, you know! You'll be able to dance and eat and enjoy some of the finer things in life…"

"That may be so, but my…_victim—_Arthur Kirkland, is it? - is the only reason we are even going. And I still have yet to see why wearing this is so vital. We are not in the 1800's."

"Well, it's a ball with a Victorian theme, so what can you expect? You need to blend in, otherwise people will become suspicious. But there _is _that little surprise near the end…"

"That damn tango, you mean?" Lovino huffed, crossing his arms. "How much more random can you get, dammit?"

"You're so cruel, Lovi! And to think I made it easier for Kiku by suggesting the idea to Kirkland!"

"How does it make it easier, Antonio-san? Those lessons were taught on quite short notice," Kiku put in, wincing at the memory.

"Yes, but you'll be quite close to him, so it'll be easier to, you know…"

"Wouldn't I already be close to him if we waltzed?"

Pause. Antonio still had his trademark goofy grin upon his face.

"Well, since it has already been arranged, I suppose I have no other choice but to 'grin and bear it,'" the dark-haired man sighed.

"Speaking of which, in order to seduce him-" here Kiku winced slightly—"and make him chase after you, you're going to have to smile quite a bit while playing hard to get. It's like the way Lovi acts. Entrance him with that technique. He'll be begging to have the chance to dance with you, provided you play your part correctly."

The last few words rang with a somewhat ominous tone.

…

"Ah. We've finally arrived."

And so they had. Kilmore Castle was what anyone would expect a castle would look like: ancient, with plenty of towers and standing tall and proud. The whole structure was a light shade of beige, with many windows, and overlooked a large body of water.

The walk had been long, but at least a comrade of theirs had been around as well and was able to give them a ride.

Kiku nervously stepped out. Yet his face betrayed no inner emotion he felt. For the rest of the night, he would be the shy and rather coy woman meant to lure a man famous for many things, not all of them good. He gazed at the building for a minute, before he heard another voice beckon for him. Antonio's.

"Kiku. What was that phrase Heracles told you again?"

A smirk appeared on the pale man's face.

"_No man can say for certain that he will be living tomorrow._" The Spaniard smiled rather sadistically.

"Fitting."

"That it is," was all Kiku said before he entered the castle to see what fate had to offer.

…

**This plotbunny has been with me for about 3 months or so. Since summer break started, how can I pass up the opportunity?  
>Yes, the corset thing is from Kuroshitsuji. Couldn't help it. The title is pretty much stolen from the name of a song by John Powell. And Kilmore Castle is real; you can read a little bit about it in Anthony Horowitz's <strong>_**Crocodile Tears.**_** (-sob- I'm so unoriginal)  
>I don't own Hetalia. I am much more biased with pairings than Himaruya himself.<br>Gack, I apologize if this is a really boring beginning…it'll make sense later, I promise! I feel I left out too much…**


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